‘The Art Book for Children’: A Book Review

The Art Book has been around for 30 years now. I used it when I first discovered the world of art, artists, and art galleries. It’s a brilliant primer for the casually interested. The Art Book for Children followed; an introduction for younger readers to great works of art. Now, publisher Phaidon is bringing The Art Book for Children back: Updated, revised, and expanded. 

What Is The Art Book for Children?

It’s a truly global compilation of some of the world’s greatest artists, historical and contemporary, all packaged in a child-friendly fashion. 

It showcases the work of 60 artists from the likes of Holbein and Da Vinci right up to modern conceptual artists like Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and Yin Xiuzhen. Artists from every continent are represented, and there is a good balance of male and female artists chosen. Favorite entries for me are Judy Chicago’s “Fantasy Dinner Party” (the book has a key to all the attendees) and Yayoi Kusama (I was lucky enough to see her installation at the Tate Modern and it was great to see her work again in this book.)

Each artist gets at least a double-page spread, with one notable work and then a page of text about their life and work. Many get an additional double page with more pictures of their art. 

At the back of the book there are some inspirational ideas to spur the reader’s inner artist. 

Why Read The Art Book for Children?

You could slice and dice a book about art a million different ways, and I imagine there could be a heated debate over the inclusion of many artists who did or didn’t make it into the book. Nevertheless, I don’t think there’s a single artist here who doesn’t justify their inclusion. This is a great selection of artists, periods, and styles to inspire young art lovers. 

The art speaks for itself, but Phaidon adds some great presentation and even better explainer text. It offers accessible potted histories of the works chosen, the artists, and some context for what the work means. Many of the entries provide great hooks to get younger readers thinking deeper about the artwork in question. It invites readers to consider the artists’ choices, or how they might represent the chosen theme if they were to create a similar picture. It’s impressive stuff. 

For me, The Art Book is the premium choice as an introduction to the subject. The Art Book for Children is no different. To be honest, this iteration is a great introduction to art for any age. My children aren’t particularly interested in art or art history, usually balking at being taken to galleries. We usually plan 30-minute smash-and-grabs (not literally), to make sure we don’t run out of goodwill. That being said, I’ve used The Art Book for Children to trigger several conversations about what makes art, and what they like and dislike. All future inspiration for future art gallery raids. Anything that can engage children in thinking about art is a very good thing.

If you would like to pick up a copy of The Art Book for Children, you can do so here, in the US, and here, in the UK. (Affiliate Links)

If you enjoyed this review, check out my other book reviews, here. 

I received a copy of this book in order to write this review.